No 10 rebukes Theresa May by insisting UK will remain leader on global stage
Theresa May in the House of Commons - Credit: Parliament Live
Downing Street has rebuked Theresa May over an accusation that Boris Johnson has abandoned Britain's position of "global moral leadership".
May used a Daily Mail article saying that while the UK was well placed to play a decisive role in shaping a more co-operative world, she suggested it had not been helped by her successor's actions.
Number 10 said Britain would “continue to be a leading voice on the international stage” under Johnson’s leadership.
Asked about his predecessor’s remarks, the prime minister’s official spokesman said: “I would reject that characterisation.
“The UK is and will continue to be an outward-looking nation and will continue to be a leading voice on the international stage.”
Asked about May's scathing assessment of the government’s performance on the world stage, home secretary Priti Patel told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I fundamentally disagree with that, particularly as this government has been speaking out against regimes complicit in all sorts of dreadful behaviours.
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“Look at the work we are doing in Hong Kong right now to protect British nationals overseas – that absolutely speaks to actions. Actions speak louder than words.
“We are out there constantly when universal rules are being flouted openly when it comes to autocratic activities.”
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